Combination labeling and marking machine



P 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

- COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet l m 0 Z T NR E H C s B s JOSEPH MUL L E R ATTORNEY Sept. 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ EI'AL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 l7 Sheets-Sheet 2 lli VENTORS s. a SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY Sept. 28, 1954 s. s. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104 COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 I I 4 E I a 24 INVENTORS j S. B. SCHWARTZ W! 40 By JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY p 1954- s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOES. S. B, SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER p 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ EIAL 2,690,104

7 COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheeis-Sheet 5 IN V EN TORS.

, S: B. SCHWARTZ By JOSEPH 'MULLER 'p 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 l7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Sept. 28, 1954 l I I IM JW s. B. SCHWARTZ EI'AL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 IIIIHHHH (D II m ml w, ml

HUN!!! "mml IM l7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTORS. S. B S C H WAR T Z BY ,JOS E PH MUL L E R s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104 COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 Sept. 28, 1954.

17 Sheets-Sheet 8 ZR MAN I. MTE H OR L MAL .Ew WHM 1c sH P E m 5'. Y B

p 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR. S. B. SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER Sept. 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,590,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 1O INVENTORS. 55 r s. B. SCHWARTZ BY JOSEPH MULLER P 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet l1 INVENTORS s. B .$CHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNE Y Sept. 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ m-AL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 12 INVENTORS s. a. SCHWARTZ BY JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY p 8, 1954 s. a. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 13 203 FIG 25 .203

I ILAIIILIIIIIIIIIIIIIQJI I INVENTORS S. B. SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104 COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 Sept. 28, 1954 17 Sheets-Sheet 14 FIG. 29

mmvr s. s. SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY Sept. 28, 1954 SB. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 15 251 25: I 254 A h 3 7 I I :1 252 256 243 245 m I 256 253 Q I 7 i g 253 (Aim u m I? l V l 254 5 I'll rzw LI! H 246 2.57 257 250 243 249 247 "Ml" illlplT iiqgllllliilfl 252 I. I F 253 lllll mm 171;

Ill! 1" II INVENTORS. SC HWARTZ PH MULLER FIG. 32 BY ATTORNEY P 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL ,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 16 INVENTORS s. B. $CHWARTZ y JOSEPH MULLER AT TORNEY P 28, 1954 s. B. SCHWARTZ ETAL 2,690,104

COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Filed Feb. 5, 1952 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 FIG. 38

34 Micro Swiich 347 Tape Feed Confro Confrol Valves 344 Iron Confrol Valves 357 347 Micro Swii'ch 36 Tape F eed C onh'ol Valves 359 344 [1'0 11 Confrol Valves a F 357 Table Drive Moi-or INVENTORS s. B- SCHWARTZ JOSEPH MULLER ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 28, 1954 COMBINATION LABELING AND MARKING MACHINE Shepard B. Schwartz and Joseph .Muller, :Nash- W118, Tenn, iassignors to May Hosiery Mills,

.Nashville, Tenn, a corporation of illennessee Application February 5, 1952, Serial 1No."27 0,-029 (ores-s8) 20 Claims. 1

IRliis invention relates L110 manufacturing and more particularly :to aniautomatic apparatus for labeling and marking manufactured fabric :articl'esisuchas hosiery. 'While'the invention will be described in iconnection -:with ithe labeling and marking :o'fzhosieryrit is toibe'understoodthat !this is for illustrative purposes only and that the-apparatus-of this inventionrmay well be utilized in labeling and marking a Wide *variety of articles not necessarilyof fabric materials.

' "In the fhosiery industry it has been common practice to secure "pairsiof socks-orzother hose to- -'gether by a label which is termed a rider. This rider is in the form of a strip which is doubled or folded about the superposed'pair of socks at any desired location, the ;rider :being secured to 'the material .of thesocks by a suitable adhesive. The rider is intended to carryany desired indicia to indicate ithe origin-pf the socks, size, the marnay be-made or any'other terial of which they desired information.

Heretofore 'in the "hosiery :industry the application of these riderslhas been almost universally :a"'manual operation inwihich the gummed rider an operator, the s "is gr'asp'ed in the singers of g'umm'e'd side 't'h'ere'of Emoistened andthe zri'der applied to the pair of socks by the hands of the operator. Obviously such'an operation even with highly skilled personnel is time consuming and materially contributes to the manufacturing costs' of the article.

Many machines have been developed and utilized to apply labels to many types of articles but prior to the present invention no successful apparatus has been riders to fabric articles such as hosiery. Various problems arise in connection with this operation such as the compressibility and resiliency of the articles, the susceptibility to damage of the articles by catching on projections or pulling the threads thereof, the problem of securely attaching the riders to the articles as Well as providing an apparatus of this nature which will be substantially foolproof in operation and which will require little maintenance with consequent loss of time in production.

Inconnection with the rider applying opera- :tion briefly referred :to above it has also been customary to apply What is known as a pin ticket to the hosiery, this operation being performed on an automatic machine in which the socks are fed to the machinem'a'nu'ally and upon operation of a control a tagor ticket is attached-to the socks byzinsertion of a pin through the ticket and the material of the socks.

proposed which will apply Inadditiomto *the :riders and the pin :tickets referred to 1 above zit has :also been rcustomary the hosiery industry to apply identifying marks :to the (hosiery ?by :a strictly manual operation in which the desired marks are in the .form of :a transfer carried by .-:a 'paper tape, the transfer or sprinting ibeingeffeoted vby applying a :hot iron to =the 'reverse-side of the 'tape and with thetransfer ink in contact with the fabric. :Needless to say this is also a time consuming and inefficient operation and has materially contributed :to the manufacturing costs :of such -hosiery.

Also in *the past :numerous imachines for accomplishing such marking :have been proposed but these machines ihavemresented :serious drawbacks one of ".WhlGh :is the :proper registration of the printed -matter-with the "iron :forapplying the same. Likewise :proper "iron operation to :prevent scorching or burning rha-s presented a problem with the-result (aha-17:11.0 satisfactory relatively inexpensive "and efficient machinefor this purpose has heretofore-been available.

All of the above -roper-ations :have -.customa-rily been performed 'by :a .group :of :operators acting more or less as a team -and as in all routine manual -.operations -'of this nature *the work becomes very stedi'ous 1 and obviously :as the :Work day progresses the wefiiciencyof the operator Will decrease and consequently an automatic apparatus which 'will perform all of thesepperations represents a valuable contribution to (the industry.

Briefly stated the apparatus of this invention incorporates a :circular :feed table :upon which soc-k-s or other articles to be :labeled and marked are placed manually, the table then proceeding instepby---step=movementsFto advance the 'articles to each machine at which ztime :the appropriate operation isiperformed. The-sequence :of operation issuch-.thatthe qperator:first presentsa pair of socks or other-artiolesatoitheriderapplyingmachine Which automatically applies "a rider thereto rafter which -the socks are removed from this =machine and placed :on :the :feed :table where they are automatically clanrpedrin position. 'The'table advances the rsocks to the pin tticket machine lwhere'za pin-ticket is automaticallytapplied thereto and thereafter the socks proceed ?to the first transfer z'printingsmaciiin'eratiwhich time a transfer is applied to theasocksiandifrom this operationsproceedwoza second transfer mac'hinewherebyeacsecondttransfer ii-siimprinted upon the socks. Obviously if (desired ithe rsecond trans'fer printing machine .imay be remitted 1 and only 'one transfer applied ttlreiarticles. "i he operations are all automatic and zi itimed :relation to each other.

The means for driving the feed table serving to correlate the operation of all of the machines. While the apparatus is disclosed as incorporating a circular feed table obviously other forms of feeding devices will present themselves to persons skilled in the art and therefore the description and showing of a circular feed table is for illustrative purposes only and any appropriate feeding means which will perform the necessary operations may be utilized.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an automatic apparatus for applying riders, pin tickets and transfers to articles such as hosiery and in which the attention of only a single operator is required.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an automatic apparatus for applying riders, pin tickets and transfer impressions to articles such as hosiery and incorporating automatic means for advancing the articles from one operation to the next, these operations being performed in sequence and in timed relation to each other.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an automatic apparatus for applying riders,

pin tickets and transfer impressions to articles such as hosiery in which a plurality of such transfers may be applied at selected locations.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for applying riders to hosiery or similar articles which is entirely automatic in operation it only being necessary for an operator to supply the articles to the apparatus and removing them therefrom, such apparatus being susceptible of operation in timed relation to other machines for performing subsequent operations.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for automatically applying riders to hosiery or similar articles in which the riders may be supplied from a relatively large roll and accurately registered in order that all riders will be applied in a similar manner and which apparatus is susceptible of operation in conjunction with subsequent machines for performing other operations.

It is a further object of the vide a pin ticket applying machine in which the socks or other articles may be automatically presented to the machine and in which the socks with the pin ticket attached are automatically ejected therefrom upon completion of the operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pin ticket machine which is susceptible of automatic control for operation in timed relation with other machines for performing prior and subsequent operations and in which the socks are automatically presented to the pin ticket machine and e ected therefrom upon completion of the pin ticket applying operation.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an automatic transfer printing machine which is adapted for operation in timed relation to other machines for performing prior and subsequent operations and in which means is provided for feeding transfers in the form of a tape and in which means is also provided for automatically and accurately registering each transfer with the applying means.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an automatic transfer printing machine which may be used in conjunction with other printing machines as well as other apparatus and which may be adjusted to accommodate various types and sides of fabric articles.

invention to pro- It is a still further object of this invention to provide an automatic labeling and marking apparatus which may be economically constructed, which will occupy a minimum of space and which will perform operations heretofore normally performed by a plurality of operators.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing the labeling and marking apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2, a top plan view of the combined labeling and marking apparatus with the individual labeling and marking machines shown in phantom and with the feeding means and drive means therefore shown in full lines;

Fig. 3, an elevational view showing the feed table and the clamping means for securely holding the articles thereon together with a portion of the driving means for the feed table;

Fig. 4, a fragmentary elevational view with parts in section for greater clarity and showing in detail the drive means for the feed table as well as the means for operating the article clamping means;

Fig. 5, a view in perspective showing the article clamping means prior to assembly with the feed table;

Fig. 6, a fragmentary sectional view showin the article clamping means assembled with the feed table and showing the internal construction thereof;

Fig. 7, a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 6 but showing the article clamping means in released position and with the cam means for actuating the clamping means;

Fig. 8, a View in perspective showing the rider applying apparatus of this invention as viewed from the operator side of the machine;

Fig. 9, a side elevational view of the rider applying apparatus shown in Fig. 8;

Fig, 10, a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 10-4 9 of Fig. 9 and showing the main operating parts of the rider applying apparatus;

ll, 2.. fragm 11}7 '0. View s owi' tape feeding 3 ns for the r er a g a rat-us, the z registe ing th tape and the means for cutting off indi' dual riders;

12, a fragmep ry detail plan view showing the tape registration means;

Fig. 13, a sectional view taken on the line i3-l8 of Fig. 11 and showing the ant control means for the tape feeding Fig. 14;, a fragmentary side elevational view with parts in section for greater clarity and show-- ing the manner in which the rider tape is fed and applied to the fabric articles;

Fig. 15, a fragmentary sectional View showing the drive means for the tape feed and the tape gripping and release means;

Fig. 16, a fragmentary view in perspective showing the tape feeding and releasing means;

17. a sectional view taken on the line Il---il of 1G and showing the drive means for the article feed table of the rider applying machine;

Fig. 18, a sectional view taken on the line Iii-iii of Fig. 10 and showing the operating means for the rider applying irons;

Fig. 19, a sectional view on the line iii-iii of Fig. 10 and showing operating mechanism for the rider cutoff knife;

ensures Fig. 20, a view in perspective shewing itherriders as supplied the form of a tape;

Fig. 2-1, a view in perspective showings pairof socks with a rider applied thereto;

Fig. 22, a view in perspective showing the pin ticket apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 23, a side view perspective of the pin ticket machine and showing the feeding means for the tickets;

Fig. 724., a fragmentary front elevation-a1 View showing the socks in operative position and with a ticket and pin applied thereto;

ll'ig. '25, a View similar to Fig. '24 an'dshow ing the operation .of the et-actor to remove the socks and pin ticket from the pin ticket machine;

Fig. 26, a fragmentary top plan view showing the ejector means and the operating mechanism itherefore;

Fig. 27, a detail the ejector means;

Fig. 28, .a view in perspective of a pair of socks having a rider and :pin ticket applied thereto;

Fig. 29, a front :elevational View showing the automatic transfer printing machine construct- -ed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 30, a side cleva'tiona'l view showing the printing machine of Fig. 29;;

:31, a fragmentary sectional view -=showing the :cylinder and operating piston for the transfer iron and with the iron in retracted position;

Fig. :32, :a fragmentary elevation'a'l view similar to Fig. '31 but showing the iron in extended :position.

view perspective showing Fig. 33, .a fragmentary elevational view showing the control means for registration :of the transfer tape and with the parts in position during the advancing movement of such tape;

Fig. 34, a view similar to .Fig. 33*w i'th part in section showing the parts in position While the {transfer tape is stationary during operation of the transfer iron;

' Fig. 35., :a sectional view on the :line 35-3 5 of Fig. 33.;

Fig. .35, 'a fragmentary detail view in perspective of the transfer tape and the transfers :as applied thereto;

Fig. 37, a view in perspective of a pair-of socks with a rider, pin ticket and transfers applied Fig. 38, a schematic diagram of the electrical control circuit for the apparatus of this invention.

With continued reference to the drawing there 'is shown in Figs. 1 and -2 a labeling and marking machine construe" vention.

This machine includes an annular work carrying table 5 l which is rotatably supported .on legs 'l'l orothersuitable supports. .Asshown in phantom in Fig. .2 a plurality of machines are located within the inner circumference of the table and these machines comprise a rider applier l2, a pin ticket applying machine l3, 2. transfer printing machine l4 and a second transfer printing machine l5. All of these machines the exception of the rider applier -l 2 operateon arti- .cles carried 'by the table t0.

.Ifable HZ com-prises an upper supporting plate provided on the underside thereof with an an- .n-ular ,traclcwa-y I l which serves to receive rollers .18 rotatably mounted in the upper ends :of legs H. Rollers it? serve to rotatably support the table 1.0 and permit movement thereof to advance the d in accordance with the instant infor fabric articles such as hosiery and articles itoabeoperazted :upon from one machine to the next.

Table ;l:0 is also provided with :a downwardly depending annular flange 1:9 whichserves tosup- :port :a circular rack -29. Back 720 :is engaged by :a'pinion gear '21 mounted on the "upper end :of a shaft 22 journalled :in bearings 23 :carried :by the legs :11. .Shaft 22 is provided adjacent :the lower end thereof with a bevel :gear 24 which meshes with a shovel gear 25 mounted on a :shaft 26 extending from :an intermittently operating one revolution clutch 2.1. Shaft '23 of clutch '2! is connected by :a coupling 29 with a camshaft 30 which serves to carry a plurality of cams 3|. Cams :3] serve to operate control switches'wh'ich will be later described. Cam shaft 30 is connected through a coupling :32 with an output shaft :33 of a reduction gearing M'the input shaft 535 of which is connected to a drive motor 36. Motor 13:6 is intended to operate continuously during the operation of the machine and camshaft 30 also operates continuously to actuate the contrdl switches and the table it is moved intermittently through an angular distance determined by one revolution of the shaft '26 carrying bevel gear 25. The clutch 21 is automatically operable and intermittently rotates the shaft '26 through one revolution. The structure of clutch '21 is entirely conventional and any detailed description thereof is :considered unnecessary.

In order to securely clamp articles in positiononthe plate I6 of table I0 during operation there are provided a plurality of work clamps 3 disposed at spaced intervals around the plate 16 adjacent the inner :edge thereof. The particular structure of these work clamps is best shown Figs. :5, :6 and 'Z. Clamps 31 comprise a block 38 secured beneath the plate Iii of ithe table Ill, "block 3:8 being provided with a vertical bore 39 which receives a plunger '40 for vertical sliding movement. Plunger 4!] is provided at the upper end thereof with a clamping finger which overlies a portion of the plate l6 and clamps the work such :as :socks between the '38 are secured in place on the plate l6 by screw threaded fastening means or the like 45. Dis- :posed within .the recess 4'4 in the plunger 40 is a engages the lower surface tion of spring 46 serves to urge the clamping linger 4| downwardly toward the upper surface :of plate I6 and thus-securely clamp articles there- 'between. During vertical movement of plunger reason :of the action of surface .49 .of cam 43 .is engaged by the lower rounded end 5216f one mg. a clamping ringer 4; 

